


I Could Be Your Love Sensei (If You'd Be My Atomic Karate Lady)

by Crowley_KingOfHell



Category: One Punch, One Punch Man, Opm - Fandom
Genre: M/M, More characters to be added, eggy and toaster, genos is thirsty, lord save me from this ship, saitama is reclusive, their friends support the ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2019-06-24 16:18:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15634281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crowley_KingOfHell/pseuds/Crowley_KingOfHell
Summary: I had the idea for this fic before a TupperWare Remix Party song gave me the title and I decided it was meant to be.Slightly AU, the universe to be explained in the story.Saitama's neighbor only has eyes for him, it takes a little while for him to find out the feeling is mutual c;





	1. Laundry Day

Frowning irritably as he took the cement steps into the apartment basement, Genos scoffed at his train of thoughts which were replaying the day's events that had lead to him being late getting to his laundry. The exposed brick turned quickly from appearing rustic and welcoming to damp and eerie at the landing that lead into the laundry room, the unnatural lighting and lack of windows sucking all the warmth from the room's appearance. A dozen white machines lined either side of the room with a set of each back to back in the center of the room as well, leaving the walking space in a loop around the chilly basement. Massive basket in hands, Genos was entirely enveloped in his internal ramblings as he chose a machine to begin loading his clothes, having yet to realize he wasn't occupying the room alone.

Standing in front of the machine full of his own clothes, Saitama had one hand buried in the front pocket of his favorite red hoodie and his nose buried in his phone, but perfectly aware of his new companion. This was the boy who lived diagonally from him, he'd just moved in last year, Saitama had seen him around the complex and at the gym across town. With a false preoccupation with his phone, Saitama observed the intruder on his laundry time. He had chosen this specific time on this specific day of the week to avoid all the other tenants but for once he didn't feel as violated with the newcomer, as he usually would with any other resident of his building. He'd always appreciated the silence that accompanied the young man typically, a slightly intriguing mystery hidden in a VERY good looking package. 

Completing the initial necessities of starting the washing machine, Genos sighed and released his frustration to instead allow himself the peace of knowing he'd at least made it to clean his clothes before bed. As he straightened his back he heard the sound of a dryer door closing. Without a second thought he turned to see who he had failed to greet, feeling rude for storming in with an aggressive attitude and not saying hello to a neighbor. His entire person locked up right down to his gaze, struck by the realization that it was his neighbor and favorite tenant. Rather than greet the man Genos forced himself to face the washing machine again and stare intently at it. They had made eye contact for the first time ever, Genos' heart rate suddenly jumped. 

Grabbing all of his laundry from the dryer in one arm load, Saitama felt his gaze being pulled back to his neighbor, having enjoyed every opportunity he'd gotten to stare at the wonderfully sculpted body of the young man. He knew most of it was quite literally sculpted, the fair skin tone colored plates covering the man's prosthetic limbs did nothing to deter Saitama's interest, merely add to his curiousity. From all the passing conversations he'd caught in hallways he knew the young man's name was Genos and that he was very polite, but something more in his smile had drawn Saitama's eye. He wished he had an excuse to start a conversation, instead he resigned himself to loading his clean clothes haphazzardly into his laundry bag before he stalked toward the door.

Unable to restrain himself, Saitama shot one last passing glance at his beautiful neighbor and caught sight of something he'd never been able to instigate on his own. Genos had looked up at the precise moment Saitama had turned his head and smiled brilliantly. Saitama felt his face burn and his brow managed a confused mingle between surprise and disbelief. He failed to return the gesture as he made his way back up to his apartment in a daze. Genos had seen the initial surprise spread over Saitama's face before it was mixed with confusion, it gave him hope; the gorgeous man had been staring twice.

Night had officially settled on the apartment and the quiet evening found Saitama lying in bed in his boxers with his thumb hovering over "Follow" next to his neighbor's profile picture on his Instagram profile. He stared at it for much longer than he could excuse himself for, but finally bit the bullet and pressed the button before locking his phone and throwing it across his bed. He buried his face in his mattress in embarrassment, as though he'd just professed an undying love for his neighbor simply by following him on social media. The exile of his phone lasted mere seconds before he snatched it up again and sat cross-legged as he decided to scroll through the thousands of photos Genos had shared since opening an account. Many were happy, positive and aesthetically pleasing pictures of the outdoors, food, bookstores and coffee, and just as many of Genos himself. He was truly beautiful, the curves of his jaw and nose were so elegant and balanced, the intensity of his eyes were unbelievable regardless of them being artificial. 

Scrolling through months of pictures, Saitama found a picture he wished he could jump into; Genos was stretched out on a bed of white sheets with crisp sunlight casting over his legs and torso, wearing only a loose white tank top and gray pajama pants but with a delectable addition detail - a powder blue lace thong peeking over the top of his waistband. Groaning out loud and locking his phone screen, Saitama tossed it yet again to the opposite side of his bed and fell back into his pillows. Of course after ONE interaction with his neighbor he was smitten. Why did he always do this to himself?


	2. Embarrassment of Riches

Faded denim skinny jeans clung to long, slender legs supporting a firm and round ass which Saitama had been shamelessly staring at from the opposite side of the laundry room. Genos had come in a few minutes behind him in an oddly casual look, typically always looking carefully put together- no pun intended- and had been focused on his chore. Only having needed to wash his hero uniform he stood staring as his suit, gloves and cape finished drying, knowing he had spent a week trying to convince himself to say something but coming up short in the moment. The warm exhaust from his dryer was blowing against his shins, baggy black gym shorts having been his only clean clothing item aside from his red hoodie which he had paired with the shorts for laundry day. Besides the exhaust of the machines the laundry room typically stayed very cold, even in summer, but this never seemed to bother Genos, whose plain white tank top revealed a small slice more about him than Saitama had known. His shoulders were also prosthetics but his neck and torso appeared to be true flesh and blood, this discover lead Saitama to wonder what all of his absolutely-not-a-crush was cybernetics versus original parts. He then wondered what it would be like to find out.

As Saitama's clothes finished drying he noticed Genos bending over to reach into the washing machine full of his now clean but damp cloths, attempting to reach something in the back and causing his shirt to ride up. Just above the waistband of his jeans Saitama got a glimpse of another small treasure; Genos was wearing the blue lace thong from the picture. Saitama's knees buckled and he forced his gaze away for the first time in nearly twenty minutes, surprised that Genos hadn't caught him considering how long he went on with it. What he didn't realize was Genos had indeed seen his neighbor staring unabashedly at his ass. Bending over to reach into the machine he saw the reflection of his dreamy fellow resident staring with intensity in his direction, causing him to bite back a laugh. It was clear on the man's face that he wanted to engage Genos but was apparently frozen to the spot.

Surely as the sun sets so did Genos' opportunity, in the short amount of time it took him to build up the courage to say something Saitama's phone chimed and he fished it out of his pocket. With an annoyed scoff he grumbled something to himself about "Those dumb assholes," before he snatched his clothes from the dryer and began undressing to change. Genos averted his eyes momentarily before glancing back but his neighbor had finished changing already. He had known his neighbor was active and a good fighter, but until this week he hadn't known the man was a registered S-Class hero. Now seeing him in reality and not simply on a computer screen Genos was able to feel the confidence he'd only seen his neighbor exhibit at the gym. On his way out he made eye contact with Genos and the cyborg felt his mostly human heart leap into his throat. His mind blanked on words entirely but he _had_ to do _something_ , so he settled on a coy smile and wink before he returned to his laundry.

Behind him Saitama had gone red in the face, knowing he had indeed been seen oggling the young man. Deciding to let next week's Saitama deal with it, this week's Saitama bolted up the stairs and headed for the location HQ had sent him, hoping he could at least burn off SOME of his embarrassment by punching things. A small part of him couldn't help but hope the chance to act would come again now that he at least had somewhat of a confirmation of interest, or was his neighbor just trying to spare him the added awkwardness? That wasn't a fun thought...

Lying on his bed with clean sheets Genos scrolled through his Instagram feed, smiling at the goofy pictures his friends posted and commenting on a few shitty-but-funny memes he had been tagged in. Finally realizing he'd scrolled so far that the posts were from the month prior he felt guilt tug at the back of his conscios, he needed to check his account more often, he didn't want to ignore his friends just because he was socially lazy. Scrolling back to the top of his feed to refresh it he noticed that he had notifications he hadn't yet looked at, with a bored expression he tapped the little icon and saw at the top of the list a profile picture next to the name 'opm-heroforfun', a back view of a shirtless man lifting a several hundred pound dumbbell in each hand over his head at the gym Genos attended. The chiseled muscles of the man's back were briefly captivating before Genos realized this person was now following his profile. Not that he minded, his profile was public, but curiosity lured him to tap on the username to investigate further.

One Punch Man, the Hero for fun, had many pictures of food, panels of manga, and snarky captioned shots of day to day problems (Genos favorite being a picture of a line of people wrapping around a building, apparently a store hosting a sale day with the caption "When You Hate Sheeple But You Are A Sheeple") but very few were selfies. As a matter of fact, none of the pictures were true selfies. Many appeared to be taken by another person, staged photos of the muscular man in the boxing ring of Genos' gym, silhouetted in shadow by a distant setting sun. Another was of the man sitting on a high cliff face overlooking an ocean wearing a hoodie and gym shorts that seemed vaguely familiar. It wasn't until Genos had scrolled nearly to the bottom, far enough that he could tell there had been a gap in time between posted photos based on content and camera quality alone, that he gasped with a sudden realization. Piecing together the outfit from the picture of the man on the cliff with what he could somewhat remember from the laundry room, and the username (which was actually a nickname given to the Hero by his fans who decided Caped Baldy wasn't an acceptable title) Genos felt his jaw drop. At the bottom of all of his posts, the first and only selfie on the page, was of his neighbor, Saitama, in a tailored suit, smiling at the camera, with a full head of hair. Genos felt his face redden as he hit the heart button under the picture and finally got up to make some dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In order to make time for the input of their friends and other heroes I decided to make this four chapters instead of three.  
> If you have any prompts or criticism leave them in the comments! ^ ^


	3. Peer Pressure

Legs thrown over the back of the couch, head hanging off the seat cushions, Saitama switched his jawbreaker from one side of his mouth to the other as he considered what his friend was saying. Across from him seat upon his coffee table with his arms resting on his elbows resting on his knees he wore a serious expression, 

"If you don't do something _soon_ you're going to miss your chance altogether. I mean have you fucking seen the guy? Shit son how are you just letting that hotness walk by your door every day?"

King laughed at Saitama's heated face, "Don't look at me like that, anyone with working eyes could fall in love with him." 

"Tell your wife that." Saitama snipped irritably.

"She told _me_ that." King laughed harder, Saitama chuckled in spite of himself.

He righted himself to a proper sitting position on his couch as his head began to ache from the blood rushing to his skull,

"I _want_ to do something, I just don't know what. I don't want it to seem desperate or creepy." He sounded unbearably resigned.

King inclined his head to one side in a half agreement as he checked a message on his phone, "Mumen in on his way up, you better prepare yourself." 

Saitama grimaced, having sworn up and down to his only other close friend that he would have initiated something with his crush by now. Mumen had vowed to march across the hall himself to do it for him if Saitama chickened-out, and Saitama knew he most certainly would. He was screwed.

From behind him a knock on his door told him his time was up and he groaned, rubbing his face with a hand in distress. He diverted to his usual avoidance strategy, choosing to busy himself with his phone while King answered the door. Saitama knew appearing distracted by something online would do nothing to prevent Mumen from snatching his phone and tossing it out Saitama's seventh story apartment window. Yet he flipped through his apps as he did in all uncomfortable social situations, to distract at least a small part of his head as well as his hands. He could hear King speaking in low tones to Mumen and felt his heart tighten in anxiety, why did he have to confide in any of his friends about his pathetic love life?

"What? No! It's fine, it's great!! Don't either of you ever get online? Jesus Christ you two might as well be elderly with how disconnected you are. Sai!" Mumen was speaking quickly as he did when he was excited, pushing past King as he entered the apartment. 

Saitama registered Mumen's use of the nickname and released a bit of his built up tension, "What's great, Mu? I do get online! I just get distracted with fan theories on my manga instead of checking twitter and stuff..." 

Mumen leapt over the back of the couch to sit next to Saitama with zero space between them, Mumen's phone shoved in his face. He had Instagram open, to Saitama's own profile, specifically his only photographic evidence of his beautiful hair. 

"RIP." He joked dryly.

Mumen glared and flicked Saitama's forehead, "No, dumbass, the likes!"

Saitama's eyes flicked from the picture to the heart below it. The number had changed by one, he frowned, knowing none of his fans ever took the time to scroll that far down in his profile when they only followed him for shirtless pictures. He looked back to Mumen before tapping on the heart to see the peole who had liked the picture, King and Mumen of course, and a few other close hero friends he had made since climbing the ranks. But at the very top of the list was a screen name that made his stomach flutter.

"Sexy cyborg boy liked your selfie!!" Mumen beamed at Saitama and King who had approached after closing the door.

King peered over Saitama's shoulder and at Mumen's phone, "Well, Saitama, it looks like you're out of excuses." 

Saitama held his head in his hands and sighed. "I know," He groaned.

_________

"So he started following you,"

"Yes."

"And you've caught him staring, well more like undressing you with his eyes,"

"More than once."

"...And you haven't fucking done anything." Amai Mask crossed his arms as he leaned his slim frame against Genos' fridge while the younger man attended to cooking dinner.

"I....winked at him... And liked one of his- well his only selfie." Genos knew Amai was not amused by the silence coming from behind him.

From across the room Metal Bat climbed back into the apartment livingroom from the fire escape, flicking a cigarette butt out after himself. Amai enlisted him immediately, 

"Bats, please make him see sense!" He exclaimed exasperatedly, gesturing wildly at Genos in his pink apron. 

Metal Bat shuffled over, shrugging off his jacket and tossing it on the love-seat as he made his way to join the others in the kitchen, "Genos, you know he's not just a super hot guy, right? He's a celebrity, a _hero_ , and since his promotion to S-Class he's taking off quick. You need to make a move or move the fuck on, dude, cause you've got competition in the thousands." 

Genos suddenly felt awash with self-consciousness. Amai rolled his eyes, "Very helpful, Bats. Genos, darling what we're both trying to say is it's clear he's interested. You should take a chance because at the very worst you have to do laundry a day earlier and start pining over another hero," Amai made an ordeal out of swishing his hair out of his face, "But if it goes well then you've landed the man of your dreams!"

The truth was obvious but Genos still couldn't picture himself just strutting up to his sexy neighbor and asking him out. What would he even ask him to go do? Besides working out, being a hero, and doing laundry, Genos had know idea what Saitama enjoyed. As he turned off the stove top and began plating food for his friends he searched through his memories of his neighbor's instagram posts, a vague recollection of sale signs and manga panels being a large portion of what he shared. 

"The next time I see him I'll invite him to that book shop down the street, they're having a sale for the end of the summer." Genos decided aloud as he sat at his table across from Metal Bat and beside Amai.

Metal Bat looked appeased and confident, Amai looked doubtful and frustrated. Genos was so preoccupied with planning his move that he barely registered how perfect dinner had turned out. Across the hall Saitama and King were shouting at each other over a video game with Mumen fretfully avoiding their shoves and kicks. Despite his hopes in distracting himself from the fact that laundry day was in two short days, he needed a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave me comments on your thoughts and ideas, I love reader interaction! ^ ^


	4. Save Your Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back from another hiatus! It seems the struggle with anxiety is one with tides, but I'm back to writing again, and hopefully will finish out a few of my stories soon, this one included c:

Saitama had promised himself that morning that he would have a plan to have a real conversation with his neighbor, but had gone through his entire morning routine leading to his daily gym trip without any sudden strokes of brilliance. Pouring himself cereal and crunching through a few bowls as he flipped through the newspaper, he hadn't caught a bit of news from the articles he spent his first waking moments staring at. He'd sipped coffee and stared at his tv without a single shred of interest, his brain failing over and over again to supply a smooth and sensible introduction. By the time he was changed into his gym clothes he had nearly resorted to searching the internet for ideas, but was forced to forfeit his hopes as the golden eyed god walked into the gym. Before Saitama could be spotted staring he wiped down the machine he was using and moved to another, taking a moment to mop his face of the perspiration gathered on his brow. More from anxiety than his work out.

Genos took a few moments to stretch his muscles and loosen a few seams on his prosthetic limbs to assist with his work out. Maintaining his strength was incredibly important to him having proper control over his arm, hand and finger movements. He'd sworn never to miss a workout, his greatest fear being the loss of use of his replaced limbs. It was a miracle he'd gotten the devices in the first place, he wanted to earn keeping them. Starting with the treadmill, Genos slipped his favorite headphones on and let himself sink into his music. He'd been at the gym nearly an hour before he stopped to catch his breath and refill his water bottle. As he scanned the room to select his next machine Genos saw the glistening muscles of his crush, finishing a set of lifts. His charcoal tank top was soaked, nearly black from the sweat stains, fitted black shorts hugging the well toned ass supporting the impressive upper body stealing all of Genos' attention. 

He was too late to break his slack-jawed gaze, caught as Saitama turned to head for the locker room. Their eyes made contact and both froze, Saitama mercifully finding a few active brain cells to put a smile on his face. Genos returned it with a goofy grin, that was all the encouragement Saitama needed. Wiping his face and neck with his towel he approached with a small smirk,

"I guess we should probably introduce ourselves properly if we're going to keep visually undressing each other like that." _Whoa there, 007, where the hell did that come from?! Screw it, see where it goes._ Saitama thought frantically to himself. 

Genos blushed furiously, disarmed at the unexpected forwardness.

He recovered quickly, "I suppose you're right, though you didn't seem satisfied with imagining, considering how many of my pictures you've liked."

His heart was racing but it was with excitement, the thrill of the chase. He couldn't contain the grin that grew with his confidence. 

Saitama was grateful for his experienced poker face he'd carefully constructed, chuckling appreciatively. He fished his phone out of a zipped pocket on the thigh of his shorts, opening the contacts and offering it to Genos, 

"My name is Saitama. I'm a fitness enthusiast and a nerd." 

Genos smiled nervously as he accepted it. His fingers quickly typed out his number and name, saving it and sending a text to his own phone before returning it, 

"My name is Genos and I'm a fashion authority and a Hero." 

He braced for the pause with a held breath after his strategic mention of Heroes, up to this point his neighbor had been very reclusive to all residents, and hadn't admitted to anyone in his building who he really was. Genos wanted to hear him say it, his inner fan-boy needed it. 

Brow creasing with thought, Saitama replied without thinking, "But I haven't seen you at HQ." 

His eyes widened moments after, his mouth moved quickly to shift gears but Genos cut him off. 

"It's okay! I won't say anything, but I sort of already knew. I've heard a lot about you, I made the connection when you followed me on Insta."

He smiled, Saitama's face paled slightly, but Genos continued, "I promised my best friends I would ask you out if I got the chance because they're tired of hearing me pine. Would you want to go see what we can find in that bookstore, before they close for good, with me?"

Saitama relaxed and returned the smile, "I'd love to. I've gotta go clean up and head to HQ, but I'll text you to see what day you can go, 'kay?"

Genos prayed his prosthetic limbs didn't over heat in front of Saitama as he nodded excitedly. With a parting wink, Saitama departed and left a cloud of butterflies trapped inside Genos' stomach and lungs. 

The walk to Head Quarters was unusually quiet, Saitama had been too enveloped in his own thoughts to realize the traffic had disappeared entirely. His blank expression quickly turned to one of concern. The bright morning sun was disappearing at an unnatural speed, he about-faced to find a mass of whipping tentacles and cyclonic wind approaching. His jaw clenched and he balled his fists, spreading his feet on instinct to assume a fighting stance. Within the tornado, at the center of the whipping and snapping tentacles, a rumbling laugh like thunder boomed.

_**"The Undefeated,"** _

It called to Saitama who curled his lip, everything about this creature set off alarms in his brain, the voice was unsettling, intrusive in nature and the four tentacles that reached from hundreds of feet in the sky at the top of the twister to the ground came from seemingly nowhere. Lighting crackled down and around the swirling wind as the entity closed in on the lone hero. 

Saitama waited nearly too long to dodge the first attacking tentacle, jumping onto the slick tendril as it crashed into the ground. Using it as a path his ran head first into the storm, praying there was something inside that could be punched. Shockingly this logic failed him. Within seconds he'd been snatched up by another tentacle, it constricted around his torso cruelly as it drew him in deeper to the eye of the tornado. A void of darkness, like smoke but made of emptiness, was the center of the storm. Saitama could swear the light around him was being extinguished by it. Before he could begin to struggle to free himself, the darkness began to growl and hiss like a prehistoric predator as a deep purple gas slowly poured out. In sank at first, to the very furthest part of the tail of the twister, but defying all natural behaviors of gas it stayed within the wall of the tornado and fill up. Like a funnel with a plug in the bottom, soon the cyclone walls were hidden by the gas, so heavy and dense as it began to gather on Saitama's skin. 

Desperately holding his breath, Saitama kicked his feet, landing a sharp blow to one tentacle, snapping it off to dangle by mere threads of skin. A howl of pain and fury bellowed from the depths of the gas clouds, but Saitama could barely hear. The air pressure was changing rapidly and holding his breath wasn't preventing Saitama's skin from absorbing the substance into his blood stream. His eyes were darkening quickly as he tried to kick again only to have his legs bound together by another fierce tendril, squeezing tighter in seething vengeance. Before he lost his sight entirely, Saitama noticed the cloud of gas was clearing, beyond the near-deafening wind surrounding him he was starting to pickup what sounded like several massive flame throwers. It turned out that was exactly what the sound was.

Genos hadn't been at the gym long after Saitama left before he turned a tv on saw helicopter footage of the monster tearing a path towards HQ. Taking only a moment long enough to swap to his weaponized limbs, he had left at full speed to catch up, having to use occasional bursts of flame to boost him over rubble in the wake of the sentient storm. Only as he had already launched a stream of flame at the monster did he notice the monster was holding a person. Cursing under his breathe carefully calculated the perfect temperature to use before he aimed for the top of the tornado, trying to equalize the temperature surrounding the storm. The wind gusts choked and began to sputter in intensity, puffs of purple smoke coughing out of small explosions in the sides of the twister. Carefully searching through the clearing clouds, he saw the center of mass and it's tentacles. Suddenly a tentacle snapped and writhed before falling off entirely, it must be a hero trapped inside, Genos thought to himself, considering the force it would take to remove a limb from such a massive creature. He clenched his jaw and redoubled his efforts.

Coughing and choking as Saitama felt his eyes darken, he dug his fingers deep into the flesh of the tentacle gripping him. At the same time he broke through the surface of it's skin, Genos dissolved the protective wall of wind surrounding the monster and set the center aflame. Howling in furious agony it dropped Saitama the creature shrank dramatically, burning impossibly fast. Genos smiled triumphantly at the monster being defeated by it's own gas as it crumpled to the ground in a heap, but his victory was short lived as he glanced up to catch the last tentacle crashing to the ground with a body loosely wrapped in it. Springing quickly over the mass of smoldering monster bits, Genos caught the falling hero before they reached the ground. His heart sank, Saitama lay unconscious in his arms with purple stains around his eyes, nose and mouth. An angry puce colored bruise darkened in a circle around his throat and body from the tendril's grasp, Genos wasn't sure which injury was more severe and he wouldn't wait to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love reader interaction so feel free to leave comments and criticisms, or suggestions for other fics! ^ ^


	5. Mumen Ships It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry but I love Mumen instigating. We'll see how much Genos' friends interfere in the next chapter c;

Genos' leg bounced irritably as he waited for Saitama's friends in the sitting room of Head Quarters' hospital wing. He'd asked the nurses to reach out to King and Mumen to check on Saitama and bring a change of clothes, before dropping into a seat in the waiting area. King was the first to show, having already been at Head Quarters, he motioned for Genos to accompany him into the room. "Don't look so grave, if you've been here long enough to have a rank then you already know Saitama is indestructible." King chuckled darkly. Genos shut the door to Saitama's recovery room quietly, furrowing his brow at his peer. King shook his head, "Not my place to explain, please, sit." He gestured to the only other seat in the room besides the one he chose. Genos took it and settled his gaze Saitama, who appeared to be snoozing comfortably with an oxygen tube under his nose. "The nurses said he just needs to let his bloodstream work through the poison, so bed rest and lots of fluids for a day or two." 

Mumen rider entered just as King finished explaining, Genos smiled awkwardly as King stood and strode around Saitama's bed to greet him, "He's fine, they're going to let us take him home once the paperwork is done." Mumen nodded, "I passed Tatsumaki on the way up, she was pissed." He snickered, "She's so worried people will 'steal her thing' that she wants an examination of the remains done." King rolled is eyes and returned to his seat, "I'm not touching that." Mumen turned to Genos after shrugging at King's lack of amusement, "Thank you for taking that monster out before it killed off what few surviving brain cells Sai has left." He offered a hand, "I'm Mumen Rider, the one who threatened his life if he didn't ask you out." 

Nearly laughing out loud, Genos clapped a hand over his mouth and snorted, it sounded like both of them had been pining from afar. Genos shook Mumen's hand, "It was an honor, really. I didn't realize who he was until I saw him wash his uniform. I'm just happy to be helpful to an S-rank." Mumen was smiling with his hands clasped under his chin, barely able to contain his internal squeals. King shook his head with a smirk and Genos glanced between the two. Mumen sighed, "I'm sorry, you're just too precious. Like I need this to happen already. God knows he could use it." He waved a hand between his sleeping friend and Genos, "He's so antisocial I think he could actually die from it." King snorted at that comment and Saitama shifted in his sleep. All eyes turned to him as he knitted his eyebrows as he began to wake. He squinted against the bright white lights above him and groaned before coughing. He sat up as his lungs made an effort to clear of the remaining poison, Saitama pulled the oxygen tube off of his head as he coughed into his fist, clutching his ribs. The fit was much more intense than his friends had expected, they glanced at each other in concern.

Groaning as he cleared his throat at last, Saitama opened his eyes to see Mumen standing at the foot of his bed, he smiled tiredly. Mumen jerked his head to his right for Saitama to turn and see Genos sitting unnaturally straight in his seat, especially considering his disheveled look. The edges of his shirt were singed and his usually perfectly styled golden hair was dusted with soot, yet somehow the messy look simply endeared Saitama all the more. His heart skipped a beat and he realized he was shirtless, torso, hips and legs bandaged where the poison had seeped into his skin through the suckers of the tentacle. He felt a blush creeping into his cheeks and he had to say something, "I guess I have you to thank?" 

Genos beamed, "I didn't know it was you, but I'm glad I showed up when I did. I didn't want to have to reschedule." He winked, Mumen finally DID squeal and King rolled his eyes again, standing and grabbing Mumen by the elbow before guiding him out of the room, "We'll get you signed out so we can leave." He explained. Saitama made a mental note to thank him later, "Well, uh, maybe we should reschedule anyway?" Genos' smile nearly faltered but he was able to recover as Saitama added, "Not for later. I was thinking sooner, if you're free? I'm going to go stir crazy if I'm supposed to sit still for a few days. I only like being lazy by choice." He laughed. Grinning ear to ear, Genos moved from his chair to the side of Saitama's bed, "That sounds great to me. We can have a movie night as soon as you're settled in again." He planted a light kiss on the top Saitama's head before departing, unable to hide the bounce in his step.

*

Saitama's ears were ringing, Mumen's high pitch squealing and loud exclamations were beginning to grit on his patience. He'd recounted the story from the gym to his friends once he'd gotten home and spread out on his couch with a blanket and a bunch of pillows. King intervened by shoving a pastry cake in Mumen's mouth, "So when are you going to invite him over?" He asked, licking chocolate off his thumb. Saitama didn't answer, King leaned in to force their eyes to meet, "You need to do it right now before you chicken out." Mumen squawked through his mouthful of cake, King nodded, "And I won't stop him this time." Saitama tensed before reaching for his phone. Swallowing his food, Mumen was able to grunt "Mhm-hm!" In a tone as though he'd said "Damn right!" King laughed, "Well, I gotta head home, but Mu you stay until you see a reply, got it? Both of you text me later." 

Hoping he had an excuse, Saitama waited for King to close the door to his apartment before he opened his mouth. Before he could properly get out of the deed his phone chirped his notification tone. He and Mumen both looked at his screen and then each other. Mumen snatched up his phone and back flipped over the back of the couch away from Saitama so he couldn't steal his phone back. He texted out a simple but heated message as he cackled wildly, sprinting down the hall to the bathroom. "Mu, please don't!" Saitama cried from the couch. "Too late!" Mumen laughed.

*

Pacing his apartment like a man possessed, agonizing over whether or not to text first, Genos finally decided to just go for it, he at least had the confidence of knowing Saitama was interested. The worst that could happen is he said no, and Genos would have to wait. Only moments after sending his message, "You know if you want company but you aren't feeling up for entertaining I can always come play nurse." He'd leaned against the counter in his kitchen as he stared at the open message thread and waited. A reply came through and he had to clutch the side of the sink to steady himself. "Think you're up for a physical?" 


	6. Comfy Couch Cuddles

Saitama had to physically remove Mu from his apartment before returning to his couch and collapsing in his pajamas with phone in hand. He quickly came up with a spicy reply and added a note that the door would be unlocked so he wouldn't have to get up again. He smelled his neighbor's arrival before he heard them, the scent of something delicious wafted through the door before Genos could even knock to announce his arrival, "Are you decent?" Genos called from the foyer.

Saitama spoke without thinking, "Should I not be?" His face flushed as his brain realized too late what he'd said. Genos' beautiful laugh echoes as he came into the living room with holding a soup pot with oven mitts and a matching, pink apron. Beneath his apron, he wore a simple white T-shirt and fitted capri jeans. He'd crossed the hall in his socks. Something about the entire look made him giggle, "That smells amazing, what is it?" Saitama hoped to cover his slip up with compliments instead. He sat up and scooted over a cushion to let Genos sit on his left side. 

Settling the pot on the coffee table with his mittens beneath it so as not to damage the finished wood, Genos let himself sit nicely on the edge of the couch, back straight, hands resting on his knees. Saitama was slowly melting into the couch when Genos asked, "Are you feeling any better?"

Saitama smiled tiredly, "A lot better now that you're here. I still haven't gotten to properly thank you yet for saving my ass." Genos giggled, "It was a public service, it's an ass worth saving for sure." Genos knew if he didn't take the chance now he'd lose his nerve. His flirting was turned up to maximum. Saitama flushed, "Thanks, I didn't realize."

He laughed and accepted a bowl of the steaming food from his visitor, stomach growling he dug in despite the heat and groaned shamelessly at the savory flavor. He hadn't had a real meal in a few days, and even by his own decent cooking ability standards, this was heavenly. 

After a few moments of silence, Saitama eating two helpings before relaxing back on the couch and sighing, "That was incredible, G, thank you." Saitama didn't catch his own slip up that time.

Genos blushed slightly at the new nickname, "Thank _you_ , for having me over despite being in recovery. I love to cook, so I thought I'd bring you something to help you feel better sooner."

Saitama smiled but tilted his head, "You always have such rigid posture. Do you ever relax?" Genos hesitated before answering, "W-well yes, um, in my own ways." Saitama realized Genos would have to play his personal life very close to his chest until he secured a hero rank. Right now being in the public eye is his best chance for ranking up, the opinion of the public affects the ability for heroes to deescalate potentially fatal encounters with monsters. 

Seeing Genos caught up in not wanting to get himself in trouble but also not wanting to lie to Saitama made him laugh, "You're such a good egg." He ruffled Genos' hair without thinking, but was struck with sly brilliance at the last second. 

Sliding his hand through Genos' soft locks, he cupped the back of Genos' head and brought their faces close. He caught Genos' gaze flick from his eyes to his mouth and that was enough confirmation for him. "I won't kiss and tell," He said quietly as he brushed their lips together. Genos felt his core temperature rise instantly, he deepened the kiss but in his excitement the heat became too much and the vents built into the back of his biceps hissed. Saitama chuckled into their kiss, "Got the -hots- for me, eh?" Genos wanted to roll his eyes but they were still looking at his former neighbor turned boyfriend's wet lips. Leaning back carefully, Saitama pulled Genos down with him and continued the ever-so-carefully measured kisses. Genos was paranoid Saitama would be uncomfortable with his added weight due to his prosthetics, but he seemed nonplussed by it. His cool hands slid under the hem of Genos' shirt before Saitama wrapped his arms around Genos' waist. 

After a few hours of languid kissing Saitama pulled away, "I think it's kind of obvious but uh, if you'd like to just stay tonight, ya know... You can." He hurriedly followed up with an excuse, "I think it would be wise to have someone stay and look out for anything weird, after...the hospital.." Saitama fell silent as Genos smiled at him, "God you're cute." Was his only response. Saitama's already creeping blush deepened. "You know I thought you were incredibly attractive the first time I saw you here, but you're always so quiet when I see you in the hall." He sat up to loosely straddle Saitama who slid an arm under his head for support, "You're so hot I thought I'd never have a chance." He shrugged, "But since I've got you here..." His voice trailed off and he gently pulled Genos to meet him in a kiss, "Why don't we catch up?"

*

Sitting across from each other on the couch, sharing a blanket, Saitama and Genos tossed popcorn back and forth in an attempt to catch a piece in their mouths. Saitama was impressive at this, to the surprise and delight of Genos, he couldn't stop smiling. They'd spent several hours sharing their stories that lead them to become a Hero. Unable to stifle a yawn, Saitama stretched and the hem of his hoodie lifted high enough to reveal the two dimples that were the top of his chiseled stomach's V, just below his belt. Genos' breath hitched and he coughed, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to keep you up, you should rest today." He stood and carefully packed up his pot and dishes, tidying the coffee table before hesitating to excuse himself. 

Saitama gingerly stood off the couch, he felt much better but he still felt unusually weak. Maybe he should take a sick day tomorrow too, just to sleep in some more... and perhaps have another visit? "You know, I'm a pretty good cook too, but right now I think I'll be spending a while either on the couch or in bed..." He paused before continuing, "Would you want to come over tomorrow for breakfast? I'd like to see you again, some more..." He trailed off awkwardly. Smooth, Sai, super hero smooth. Genos beamed nonetheless, "I'd be happy to! How about I cook for you here?" Saitama winked at Genos before leaning in for a brief kiss. The lingering memory of the heat of Genos' kisses would stay with Saitama through the evening and into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying my best to take this slow because I want to build both characters a bit more before delving into their relationship unfolding   
> Please leave comments of your thoughts c:

**Author's Note:**

> I have three chapters planned for this but it may run a little longer as I add more lore to the story regarding the universe.  
> Please leave kudos if you enjoyed it, and comments if you have ideas or criticisms! ^^


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